Tagline: Discover what happens when you go looking for a miracle and a miracle comes looking for you.
Because of Winn-Dixie. Based on the perennial best-seller, a lonely young girl adopts an orphaned dog, Winn-Dixie (so named for the supermarket where she found him), who helps her make friends in the small Florida town. The bond between the girl and her special companion brings together the townspeople and helps heal her own troubled relationship with her father.
Twentieth Century Fox and Walden Media present BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE adapted from the popular and much-honored novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo. Among the book’s awards is the coveted Newbery Honor. Wang directs from a screenplay by Joan Singleton. The Producers are Trevor Albert and Joan Singleton, and the Executive Producer is Ralph Singleton.
The village of Napoleonville, Louisiana stands in for the story’s fictional Naomi, Florida. Sleepy Naomi is a place where people have forgotten how to share their sadness and their joy. But Opal and Winn-Dixie might have something to say about that.
Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson, Dave Matthews and Eva Marie Saint star as the somewhat eccentric adults who benefit from Opal and Winn-Dixie’s bumpy summer of discovery. Newcomer Anna Sophia Robb won the role of Opal following an intensive talent hunt. “Opal and Winn-Dixie have something in common,” says AnnaSophia. “She doesn’t have a mother and he doesn’t have a home. They both want somebody to love and somebody to love them. And, as a team, they begin to realize that people just might want the same things.”
Winn-Dixie guides Opal into places where magic dozes under a coat of dusty disappointment and awakens the people hiding there. Things begin to change day by day under the summer sun – in a funky pet store, a musty library, a drab mobile home, a ramshackle house turned temple of worship.
Because Of Winn-Dixie, published by Candlewick Press, was Kate DiCamillo’s first book. It was a New York Times bestseller and recipient of the prestigious Newbery Honor in 2001. It was awarded a Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon, placed on the New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing list, was a Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner, a Publishers Weekly Best Book Of The Year and a School Library Journal Best Book Of The Year. The author’s subsequent books are The Tiger Rising, a National Book Award finalist, and The Tale Of Desperaux, which earned the 2004 Newbery Medal.
“Because of Winn-Dixie is the result of my own longings,” says DiCamillo. “I’m from Central Florida, where the winters are mild, but found myself living in Minneapolis during the worst winter on record. And it was the first time in my life that I didn’t have a dog. I was desperate for the companionship of a dog. So the book was born out of my homesickness and dog-sickness.”
Adults customarily recommend literature to young people. However, in the case of this book, it seems to be the other way around. A story that speaks to those of all ages, Because of Winn-Dixie began its journey to Hollywood when producer/screenwriter Joan Singleton purchased a handful of books for her younger daughter, Elizabeth, then 9, to read on vacation.”
Elizabeth was immediately drawn to Because of Winn-Dixie because of the girl and the dog on the cover. However, when she began reading it, she was so touched by the story of Opal and Winn-Dixie that she couldn’t put the book down, finishing it in one day. She then insisted that I read it, and wouldn’t let me rest till I did. Children need stories that inspire them as this one does. And so do adults. My 80-year old father had the same heartfelt reaction to reading the book as did (then) 9-year old Elizabeth. Kate DiCamillo’s magical and lyrical writing touched me, too, and I knew I couldn’t rest until I had made this into a movie.”
For all its optimism, the story springs from loss, disappointment and heartbreak. It is about a little girl whose mother walked away and she doesn’t know why. It has left her with an emptiness that sees little hope of being filled.
Producer Trevor Albert explains: “The best stories, like this one, have lightness and darkness, naïve innocence and a textural depth. As the father of two young girls, I’m constantly surprised at the threshold they have for comprehending and processing danger and fear, and wanting to know about life’s mysteries. They are curious about things beyond their life experience. The best literature mixes both the joy and the sadness of life.”
Director Wayne Wang suffered a great personal loss as he began the challenge of translating Kate DiCamillo’s book to the screen. His father died suddenly and unexpectedly.” Because of Winn-Dixie helped me through a very difficult period in my life,” he says. And in another way, my difficulties helped me absorb the deeper aspects of the book.”
The film marks Wang’s first extended experience directing children and animals. “Working with kids and animals presents a daily unpredictability,” says Wang. “Sometimes, the going is slow. But, then, suddenly something magical happens that you couldn’t possibly have planned or anticipated.”
Nine-year-old AnnaSophia Robb of Denver, Colorado was an untested actress as Wang began directing her in a film in which she is the primary focus and principal character. The filmmakers viewed videos of approximately 650 young girls. Then they met the most promising candidates in person. Finally, three young actresses were screen tested before AnnaSophia got the nod.
Winning the coveted role presented AnnaSophia with an unusual challenge. She appears in almost every scene in the movie, rare circumstances for even the most experienced star, and she does it alongside a popular veteran actor, two actresses of legendary standing, one of entertainment’s most beloved musicians, and a new, four-legged star.
“I knew AnnaSophia was very bright and intuitive,” says Wang. “When I asked her to try a lot of different approaches to a scene, she was always happy to jump right into it and explore those new territories. She always came up with fresh and lively ways of playing the scenes. She was afraid of nothing.”
“Opal has a lot of love in her heart and she just wants to give it to people,” says AnnaSophia. “She’s just at the beginning of her life, but after moving to a new town she feels lonely, like it’s almost the end of her life. She needs somebody to love, and Winn-Dixie does, too. Then he teaches her not to judge people by what they look like when you first meet them.”
The hunt for a canine to play the title role was nearly as extensive as the casting search for Opal. Wang wanted a lovable mutt, like the one pictured on the book’s cover. “The problem was,” he explains, “that when we found suitable candidates, they were one-of-a-kind originals and we were unable to locate a few look-alikes to serve as back-up. The picture’s insurers insisted we have understudies because the dog is in virtually every scene. If he got sick or disappeared or suddenly didn’t feel like working one day we would have to shut down the picture.”
Wang and veteran Head Animal Trainer Mark Forbes considered several large breeds until they came upon one particular Picardy shepherd. “Though the Picardy is a noble breed, it has the likable look of a mutt,” Wang says. “He looks like a dog with a sense of humor, a sense of mischief, a curiosity and goodness.” Ultimately, the dog, who had never attended a drama class, had to be brought to Louisiana from France – along with several stand-in Picardys – and given a crash course on acting.
“Only when we decided on the Picardy did we learn how very rare the breed is,” Forbes says. “We found only two or three in all of California. We located only about 12 breeders in Europe, mostly in France. And no dog we found had any acting experience. We had to bring them over from France and cram 16 weeks of training into about 10 weeks. We only had about a week and a half to get AnnaSophia and the dog acquainted. These dogs definitely need to be properly introduced to people. They don’t particularly take to new humans quickly. But, as planned, she became a safety area for Winn-Dixie.”
AnnaSophia describes the Picardy as “really big, with a huge nose, perky ears outlined in black and thick hair that is reddish, grayish, brownish and orange-ish. And the sweetest eyes I ever saw.”
Wang assembled a distinguished ensemble to portray the characters Opal and Winn-Dixie encounter during their summer adventure. “It was easy to get the cream of the acting crop,” Producer Trevor Albert says. “They all expressed a real desire to work with Wayne because of his wonderful body of work.”
Jeff Daniels plays the Preacher, Opal’s single parent whose religious calling precludes typical parental involvement in his daughter’s life – until a smelly, rambunctious dog tugs him from his shell. Daniels’ many films include “Terms Of Endearment,” “Heartburn,” “Speed,” “Fly Away Home,” “Radio Days,” “Dumb & Dumber,” “Pleasantville” and “Blood Work.”
Daniels says, “The Preacher is in a lot of pain about his wife, who had left him years earlier. He’s trying to shield his daughter and raise her as best he can under not-so-great circumstances. He loves Opal so much, but there’s a wall between them. And then this funny stray dog shows up and just pounds away until the wall starts to crumble. BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE is much more than a film for the entire family; it’s a movie about the power of communication and universal feelings of love.”
For the role of Miss Franny, the town’s aristocratic and eccentric librarian, Wang paged Eva Marie Saint, who won an Academy Award® for her first movie, “On the Waterfront.” Saint’s screen appearances include “A Hatful Of Rain,” “Raintree County,” “Exodus,” “North By Northwest” and, more recently “I Dreamed Of Africa.
Eva Marie Saint describes Miss Franny as “a lady who busies herself with her memories and her books. When she was a little girl her wealthy father asked what she wanted and she responded, `My own library’. So she’s been a librarian since she was 11 and never married. Then, one day, a little girl and a big dog show up. Miss Franny loves telling stories and Opal loves hearing them. They add richness to each other’s lives. Eventually, Opal and Winn-Dixie bring together an unlikely ensemble of lonely people.”
The acclaimed actress adds, “It’s not a sentimental story as directed in the skillful hands of Wayne Wang. It’s a wonderful uplifting film for every member of the family.”
Cicely Tyson, who was honored with an unprecedented two Emmys for “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” and an Academy Award nomination for “Sounder,” was signed to portray reclusive Gloria Dump, who local kids call the wicked witch of Naomi. She lives alone with her tamed demons and failing eyes until Winn-Dixie enters her tangled yard and it becomes a place of growth and discovery.
Popular musician Dave Matthews portrays Otis, a loner and pet store clerk who magically charms the animals with his music and gives Opal her first summer job. Until she and the dog show up, all Otis has is his music and his bad luck.
Of the mysterious Otis, Matthews says, “He’s obviously had a troubled past and seen a lot of ugliness and he’s been burdened by it. He’s comfortable with animals and music, but that’s about it.”
“I did some acting in Virginia – small theatre stuff – before music stole most of my time,” Matthews continues. “But I enjoy keeping up with movies and I’m sent quite a few scripts. I was drawn to this project because I’m a big fan of Wayne Wang’s work. And I didn’t want to play a musician. I sing just a little bit in the picture, but I liked the chance to play an interesting role in a rich ensemble of characters.”
The young actors playing Opal’s small town peers are Courtney Jines as bossy, sad Amanda; Elle Fanning as knuckle-chewing, dog obsessed Sweetie Pie; and Nick Price and Luke Benward as the taunting Dewberry brothers, Dunlap and Stevie.
All the actors and filmmakers found the experience of turning Because of Winn-Dixie into a major motion picture to be a rewarding, if daunting experience. Author Kate DiCamillo set the bar high, creating a magical story about, in her words, “hope and love and comfort and joy.”
For Singleton, both as Producer and Screenwriter, translating DiCamillo’s beloved novel and keeping its multitude of fans happy, were formidable challenges. “Millions who have read and loved this book have such high expectations,” says Singleton. “Our mandate was to live up to all those expectations. But in this day of big, action packed, explosive entertainment, it’s gratifying to be involved in such a heartfelt story that can touch people of all ages.”
Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)
Directed by: Wayne Wang
Starring: Anna Sophia Robb, Jeff Daniels, Elle Fanning, Dave Matthews, Cicely Tyson, Eva Marie Saint, Dave Matthews, Luke Benward, Harland Williams, Lenore Banks, Julia Lashae, Lara Grice
Screenplay by: Joan V. Singleton
Production Design by: Donald Graham Burt
Cinematography by: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Film Editing by: Deirdre Slevin
Costume Design by: Hope Hanafin
Set Decoration by: Marthe Pineau
Art Direction by: Monroe Kelly
Music by: Rachel Portman
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements and brief mild language.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: February 18, 2005
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